580 Dogwood Street

Opposition to Affordable Housing at 580 Dogwood Street

While this year’s count was cancelled because of the pandemic, the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness (the Coalition) estimate the city’s unhoused population is currently more than a hundred. Most cite high rents as the principle barrier to their finding permanent accommodation. BC Housing is proposing to fund the build and operations of a 50 unit supported housing building at 580 Dogwood street. This sparked neighbourhood resistance and, at this point, 1,424 people have signed a Change.org petition against the project.

‘Bad Neighbours’

At the time of this articles original publication (Aug 11), the most recent comment displayed on the website states: 

“Irresponsible placement! Children need a safe environment, and housing troubled people with substance abuse issues (drugs or alcohol) and most likely mentally instabilities near these children, does not create that environment at all. Use your damn head Campbell River council.”

The Coalition points out that:

“‘Bad neighbour’ arguments against supportive housing… “are often emotional and/or ideological in nature, and are often founded in much broader issues of stigma and discrimination” 

Result Of a Two Year Study

According to Campbell River’s Senior Planner Cleo Corbett:

“For the past two years the City has been working with BC Housing to identify an appropriate piece of property for the housing considering location, adequate size, servicing capabilities, ownership (if it would have to be purchased or leased) and access to amenities and services. The 580 Dogwood site is City of Campbell River-owned property, suitably close to major bus lines, shopping amenities, health and social services, is within a community neighbourhood and has the appropriate zoning in place.”

The residents will be Campbell River residents, at least 19 years old, with a history of homelessness. 

Staff will be on-site 24/7 to manage the building and respond to any resident concerns. 

Map of the Neighbourhood surrounding 580 Dogwood street
Screenshot of area surrounding the development – courtesy Google Maps

“ … The Wrong Place”

Opponents of the project claim that no one with property backing onto the proposed lot wants this facility. 

“No consultation has been done with people directly affected and it appears they want to bully their way in.”

(Added later – On August 11th, the day this article was originally published, a petition bearing 87 signatures arrived at city hall. They all display Campbell River addresses and were collected on a single day.)

One of the organizers told the Campbell River Mirror, “We understand that there is a need for it, we just think it’s the wrong place.” 

She and her colleagues found an alternate site, “ … There’s the Paramount – the old Voodoo Lounge – that property is up for sale … I mean they could easily put up 40 units on there and room for another 80.” 

High Risk For Children?

One of their concerns is the potential risk to children. There is a school across the street from the proposed facility and “3 more within a 2 km radius.”

Opponents of the project claim the proposed housing unit:

“ … will create risks of needlestick injuries, unknown people on the path of childrens walk to school, among many other risks of homeless people (who are quite possibly on drugs) being near children …  The people in the facility will wander into our neighbourhood and cause problems with our families and endanger our children of a needlestick injury in our own yards.” 

Corbett responded, “Locations that are suitable for supportive housing are close proximity to transit, amenities and community services including health services, commercial and recreational activities. As schools are often centrally located within communities, suitable locations for supportive housing often have schools nearby.”

Proximity To Schools Not a Problem

She points to more than a decade of data from supportive housing sites across the province, suggesting proximity to schools has not been a problem. 

There are more than 210 provincially-funded supportive housing sites across the province that are within 500 metres of a school, and 52% of provincially-funded supportive housing sites in B.C. within 500 metres of schools have been operating for 10+ years.”

Many of these projects have had “no issues” and were subsequently supported by neighbours and the broader community.

Homelessness Solutions For Parksville” states the number of needlestick incidents decreases after supportive housing is introduced to a community, because people with a place to live are less likely to take drugs in public. 

Will Crime Go Up?

Opponents of the project claim

“Property crime usually goes up when a place like this is built, it is inevitable as well as more needles appearing in peoples yards for a 2km radius of a facility such as this one. Petty theft and home break ins and invasions are fairly normal near a facility such as this, as shown by the one installed in Nanaimo and Parksville.”  

In their August 11th submission to city hall, opponents include a link to a CHEK news story about theft in the neighbourhood surrounding a Nanaimo affordable housing complex.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog is quoted, “This [project] went too fast and it has produced some real problems, unfortunately.”

The CHEK reporter wrote, “BC Housing said the project has been a learning experience since staff had to respond so quickly to the court order to find housing for Discontent City’s homeless.

Once again, the Parksville report indicates this is not the usual experience:

“While there are sometimes increased calls for police service around new supportive housing buildings, actual property and physical crimes decline, and calls reduce to a level lower than before the building over time.”

A review of the police complaints about 16 Vancouver projects, over a period of twenty-fives, found that “few calls have been made by neighbours of supportive housing projects.”

Senior Planner Cleo Corbett cited a number of additional evidences 

  • We know from evidence in B.C. and internationally that communities are safer and healthier when people have housing and the supports they need. As with all new supportive housing buildings, it takes some time for residents to settle into the building, and for the neighbours’ to feel their concerns have been addressed.
  • The police data show this too: studies of five B.C.-based supportive housing projects show reductions in police calls once supportive housing is in place.
  • A B.C. study linking data for mire than 450 individuals in BC Housing funded supportive housing and shelters found that once supportive housing was obtained, resident interaction with the justice system decreased by 61%.
  • BC Housing has conducted a number of studies on supportive housing, and they continue to show the benefits of supportive housing in recent buildings completed by the province. in Marpole, where neighbours initially raised concerns about the location near schools, the area crime rate decreased by 24% following the opening of the building, and there have been no issues with any of the schools.
  • In Surrey, where multiple buildings were built to house homeless people formerly living along 135A Street, RCMP stats also showed a significant decrease in neighbourhood crime in the six months following their opening.
580 Dogwood street
Artist’s depiction of proposed supportive housing development at 580 Dogwood Street – courtesy City of Campbell River.

Will Real Estate Values Drop?

The petitioners state: “Although the city planners maintain the property value will stay or go up regardless, this is an outright lie as Parksville has already shown the homes near the facility went down up to 30% in home equity.” 

This is not what the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness found:

“When affordable housing is relatively dispersed, research suggests that the impacts on surrounding property values are neutral or positive, but can become negative once a critical mass of units or developments in a given area is reached. Interestingly, in distressed areas, large-scale affordable housing projects are considered desirable when they result in an upgrade to the housing stock at a sufficient scale to change the neighbourhood trajectory. Upgrading housing stock through affordable housing development may have positive impacts on surrounding property values if done at a sufficient scale and as part of a larger community revitalization strategy.”

A number of related studies found that supportive housing does not necessarily depreciate real estate values. 

A B.C. Government task force examining seven projects, in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Okanagan, reported:

“In all seven cases, the appraisers found no evidence that the presence of the townhouse development or special needs group home negatively affected the sale prices of homes in the impact area … House prices in the vicinity of the non -market project increased as much – and in some cases, more than – nearby areas of similar housing types and ages. There was no evidence of panic selling or extra – ordinary length of time on the market between the dates of listing and sale.”

Similarly, a review of 31 studies from California found that property values actually rose in seven cases, fell in regard to one project and had no discernible effects in the vast majority.  

Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness
The Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness is composed of 19 community organizations: indigenous groups, Not-for-profit service provider organizations, Faith Groups, Health Agencies, Community groups, Not-for-profit housing providers etc.

An Opportunity 

While supportive building projects for victims of the Pacific West apartment fire, people head injuries and transitional housing for women are being developed, there is no permanent housing for the homeless population at large. 

BC Housing’s recent purchase of the former Rose Bowl Inn is meant to provide 20 transitional beds, for people waiting for more permanent accommodation.

The Coalition states there are currently “20 emergency shelter beds, 12 sobering assessment beds and zero supportive housing units.”

They wrote city council:

“Our community has an opportunity to embrace, engage and support our vulnerable population whilst simultaneously addressing the ongoing concerns of the downtown core. Social service and housing provisions can address the needs of both the vulnerable populations, business owners and downtown visitors alike. Increased service provision and housing measures will address the presented issues. Acceptance, empathy, compassion and engagement between the business community, vulnerable populations and receptive Coalition member organizations will address the systemic and systematic impacts of homelessness, vulnerability and stigmatization in our community. “

What Happens Next?

The petition “against 580 Dogwood becoming supportive housing for homeless” will most likely reach its stated goal of obtaining 1,500 signatures. 

As this property is already zoned for a development of this kind, the city of Campbell River does not need public consultation.

Never-the-less, Corbett writes that BC Housing “is committed to being a good neighbour and is in the process of finalizing plans to engage the community on this project.”  

“Neighbours and interested community members are invited and encouraged to participate in information sessions to learn more about the project and to provide feedback. Online engagement sessions will be held in August and September and people can sign up on BC Housing’s “Let’s Talk” webpage.”

Originally published August 11th and some additional items were added on August 22nd, 2020.

Top photo credit: Screenshot of the proposed location at 580 Dogwood Street – courtesy Google Maps

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